It's Been Four Years
by totalizzyness
Summary: Or; 4 Snapshots of Dean and Castiel's relationship, and one of Sam. Set over the 4 years Castiel spent in college with Dean. Sequel to 'Not All That' - Rated M just in case, seeing as the site is getting iffy with fic ratings.


**4 Snapshots of Dean and Castiel's relationship, and one of Sam. Set over the 4 years Castiel spent in college with Dean.**

* * *

**************DEAN AND CASTIEL - YEAR 1**

* * *

Castiel had officially been a student for a week, and he and Dean had settled in to their independent lifestyle pretty quickly. Dean had started work at a local garage the day after they moved to Cambridge, determined to be able to provide for the two of them without Castiel having to use his family's money.

Cas came home from a day of lectures, kicked his shoes off at the door and joined Dean in the kitchen, where he was cooking dinner. Dean's face lit up when he saw his boyfriend walk in.

"Afternoon! Good day of learning?"

Cas smiled; "yes... I've been invited to a get-together."

Dean chuckled; "a student get-together? You know they're full of drugs and sex, right?"

Cas chuckled too, pressing a quick kiss to Dean's cheek; "it's not that kind of get-together."

"You sure? I don't want to be bailing you out of jail when you're arrested for being drunk and disorderly and streaking down the high street."

"It's like you don't know me at all!"

"Oh I know you very well," Dean grinned, slipping his arms around his boyfriend's waist. Castiel hummed mindlessly, looking around the kitchen, still amazed it was all theirs.

"So do you think I should go?"

"God yeah! Go make some friends, Cas! I'd like their parents' numbers though, and ring me if you're planning a sleepover."

Castiel laughed, pulling out of Dean's arms; "I think you're taking your role as my protector too seriously."

"Nope. I promised your brother nothing would happen to you."

"Does that include having fun?"

"Only when it's had without me... So when is this party? Do you need a ride?"

"It's in the dorms. Tessa and Ava's room..."

Dean pretended to be shocked; "girls? Cas!"

"I met them in one of my required courses. Along with Victor, Garth, and Patrick - who's from Ireland."

"I'm so proud of you! Making friends!"

Cas smiled meekly; "it's about time, huh?"

"Long overdue, yes."

"What will you do tonight?"

"Well, now I'm cooking for one, I'm going to pig out to the Terminator movies. Good job I can eat enough to feed a small family, eh?"

Castiel let out a soft chuckle; "you could always refrigerate what's left over. You don't need to eat all of it."

"Don't be stupid. Now, what time time are you going over?"

* * *

The door swung open, Castiel was greeted by an average height girl with shoulder-length brown hair and a warm smile; "Castiel! We were beginning to think you weren't coming!"

Cas smiled back and let himself be ushered in to the dorm room; "I apologise. My partner got very clingy in the car. It's a rare occurrence for me to socialise by myself."

"Aww, that's sweet. You can tell us all about them."

She took his coat, offered him a drink and led him through to the living room where everyone else was gathered.

"Cas! You made it!" Garth grinned, holding up his beer. Ava moved up along the sofa and patted the space next to her.

"We were discussing our upbringings. Patrick came from a strictly Catholic family and got emancipated," Garth explained. Castiel nodded and glanced around at everyone.

"I'm from Jersey, just me and my dad," Tessa smiled; "everyone in the neighbourhood nicknamed him Death, because he was creepy looking."

Victor laughed; "is he creepy looking?"

"A little, yeah. And he's pretty intimidating; but he's my dad, and he's cool."

The six of them discussed their families and home lives - Castiel trying his best to skim over the details - before Ava brought up relationships.

"I don't know why I brought it up. It's always a sore spot for me," she sniffed, after attempting to tell everyone about her late boyfriend. Tessa smiled meekly and patted her arm.

"It's okay... Victor. You go first.!"

Victor smirked; "there's not much to tell. I've had my fair share of high-school relationships, lasting a month at most."

"Do you ever want to settle down? Have kids?"

"Sure, one day. But I'm not even 20 yet! I don't plan on a wife and kids for a long time..."

Tessa suddenly perked up; "Castiel! You're in a relationship, right?"

Cas smiled, blushing slightly as everyone focused on him; "I'll have been with Dean a year in October."

"You're gay?" Patrick asked. Cas shook his head.

"It's complicated, but I'm not gay... I'm asexual."

Ava suddenly squealed; "I know about that! I have a friend back home who's asexual! Are you homoromantic? She is!"

Cas shook his head again; "panromantic. Although everyone who knows me jsut says I'm Dean-sexual."

"That's cute," Tessa smiled; "is he your first?"

"Yes. He's... Wonderful. Very understanding. I'm a difficult partner, and he's very patient."

"Difficult how?" Garth pried. Castiel reached for his glass of water, taking a large gulp, before responding.

"I'm very... Well, I'm very frigid and awkward. I don't really... I'm not interested in sex. At all. And he is. But from the start he was just very patient; understanding when I didn't want him to hug me or kiss me."

"So you had like, massive boundaries?" Ava asked.

"Yes. And Dean respected them completely."

The girls "aww"ed. Victor frowned.

"So what does he... Do? Y'know... About..."

"He said he's content masturbating."

Everyone besides Patrick giggled.

"But, I gave him permission seek sexual gratification elsewhere if he so wishes."

"Tessa blanched; "you've letting him sleep with other people?"

"Yes," Cas replied calmly; "he doesn't tell me about what he does, obviously. But he has permission."

"Dude..."

Castiel shrugged; "we work..."

"So does that mean you're a virgin?" Victor asked. Both Tessa and Ava reached over and slapped a leg each.

"Victor! You don't have to answer that, Cas," Ava said, forcing a smile. Cas blushed.

"Well... I suppose with me technically being in a homosexual relationship, at what point would I lose my virginity?"

"Well... I suppose when you go all the way, but... Have you done stuff?"

"Sexual things? Yes."

"Not kissing and things, I mean-"

"-I know what you meant, and the answer's still yes."

Garth narrowed his eyes; "but you said-"

"-Yes. You see... I had... Issues with sex. On the one hand I didn't want it because I didn't care, but also because I was... Scared, I suppose. And I didn't want Dean to sleep with other people. I gave him permission but... So, with his help I tried to get over my issues with intimacy."

Ava smirked; "so it worked?"

"To an extent. Things have happened a few times. Nothing 'major' and all but one time was for his pleasure, not mine. But yes. Dean and I have been intimate. And it only happened because he is the most understanding human I've ever met. Her's a real saint... I don't know what I'd do without him."

Ava, Tessa, and even Garth "aww"ed.

"That's so romantic," Tessa sighed. Everyone took a moment to enjoy Cas' tale, before Patrick mused about a girl he left back in Ireland.

* * *

******DEAN AND CASTIEL - YEAR 2**

* * *

Castiel had only been gone an hour and Dean was missing him like crazy. Typical, he leaves for DC for the weekend - the two days Dean doesn't work. He was already going stir-crazy in the empty apartment, looking for something, anything to keep him occupied. He began gathering every dirty or questionable article of clothing in the apartment, grabbing the detergent and fabric softener and taking them to the laundry room in the basement of the building.

_**"I miss you already! I'm doing the fucking washing!"**_

He meticulously separated the washing, measuring out the exact amounts of fabric softener, until he was idle again. He watched the washing machines vibrate for a while before retreating back up to the apartment.

_**"I miss you too. And why can't you be so proactive when I'm home?"**_

Dean smiled at his phone; _**"because you're there to distract me."**_

When Castiel didn't reply for five minutes, Dean went to to find something to occupy himself with... Which turned out to be the dishes. Dean loathed doing the dishes; he let Castiel get his hands wrinkly whilst he dried. But they had to be done. And it was either suck it up or sit and be miserable. He meandered in to the living room to grab his iPod from his coat and collected any dishes that may have been lying around. Castiel usually ran a very tight ship - food was to be eaten in the kitchen, snacks were to be eaten with a plate, cups were to be emptied and rinsed once used. Dean, however, was much more lax, citing if food began moving of it's own free will it was probably time to clean it. There was only a plate with a few crumbs on and a glass in the living room - which Cas would have thrown a fit over - so Dean quickly docked his iPod on the speakers in the kitchen, hit play and began filling the sink with hot soapy water.

"Come on guys, bath-time," Dean mumbled to the dishes piled next to the sink. Cas' usual method was to pile all the dishes and plates in and wash them, followed by the bowls, then cups, then cutlery... Dean however was bored out of his mind, so picked up one fork, submerging it for a few moments before cleaning it meticulously. Once it was sufficiently sparklingly clean, he dropped it on to the draining board, repeating the process with a knife. Doing the dishes one by one killed plenty of time; once he'd done he went down to retrieve the washing.

His long, dull, drawn-out day of doing dishes and laundry ended with Dean being unable to climb in to bed without Castiel and instead fell asleep on the sofa blanket thrown haphazardly covering most of his body as infomercials played muted on the TV. He woke up intermittently, finding it hard to get comfortable on the sofa, and missing the warmth of Cas' body pressed against his.

The following day wasn't much better. Having done the dishes and washing, he tried desperately to find jobs to do. After half an hour of idly milling around the apartment, munching on dry cereal from the box, he pulled on his shoes and coat and took the half-hour walk to the shops, dawdling around looking at all the goods. He pondered what foods Castiel usually bought, and what foods he particularly liked and bought them. He then made his way to a general store to pick up some cleaning equipment and slowly made his way home.

He quickly put the food away, put his iPod on again and set about cleaning every room in the house, starting with the bedroom. He dusted, tidied, polished, cleaned the windows, made the bed, took out the trash... Repeating the process in the living room, and spare room, before running the vacuum through the house. He decided to take his time in the bathroom; bleaching everything, scrubbing the bath clean, mopping the floor, until it was blindingly clean. He took a picture and sent it to Cas, frowning when he didn't get a reply after fifteen minutes.

"Of course. He's busy being all interesting and shit..."

He let out a long sigh and made himself a quick meal of fried eggs - meticulously cleaning the things he used after - before making a start on the kitchen. He'd just finished sorting out all the random spices and condiments and other things in one of the overhead cupboards when his phone vibrated on the counter.

_**"That's really, really clean. Are you all right, Dean? Should I phone the doctor?"**_

Dean smiled fondly; _**"nope. I miss you like crazy. I can't even sleep without you. Please come back!"**_

_**"I'll be back on Monday. I miss you too, Dean. Please try to regain some sanity, as much as I'm liking this new clean-freak you, I fell in love with the scruffy couldn't-care-less you."**_

_**"I'm not scruffy."**_

_**"I love you, Dean. I'll ring you tonight."**_

_**"I love you too. And see that you do! I miss your voice!"**_

After several minutes of staring blankly at his phone screen - smiling at the background picture of him and Cas at Christmas - before accepting he wasn't getting a reply. He stuffed the phone in to his back pocket and returned to cleaning and sorting the kitchen.

At the end of the day, he house smelled horribly clean and Dean was almost afraid of moving from his spot on the sofa through fear of messing up the apartment. He went to reach for the remote but instead pulled his phone from his pocket. He thumbed through the contacts, hovering over Cas' number, instead pressing 'call' over Sam's.

_"Hello?"_

"Sammy!"

_"Dean... Is something up?"_

"Nope, just thought I'd call to check in on my favourite brother."

_"Unless dad fathered another kid, I'm sure I'm your only brother."_

"Whatever, bitch. So... How're you doing?"

Sam sighed down the phone; _"I have two five-thousand-word essays in for Monday, and a project to finish... So I'm pretty busy. So what do you want, Dean?"_

Dean sighed too; "Cas is on his field trip to DC. I'm lonely... It feels weird being in the apartment by myself."

_"I'd love to entertain you whilst you pine for your boyfriend, but I'm too busy... Call Gabe or something?"_

"Fine... Thanks for nothing."

_"Don't be a jerk, Dean. Maybe you should get a hobby."_

"I've got one! He's in DC right now!"

_"I don't know if that's plain gross or disgustingly romantic... Anyway. I've got to go."_

"All right... See-ya."

Dean hung up and looked around the apartment, taking in how weird it was that it was completely spotless. He thought about ringing Gabriel, deciding instead to text him.

_**"Bored as Hell, dude. Entertain me. Please!"**_

A few seconds later he got a reply; _**"watch some porn! Porn is the answer to all of life's problems!"**_

Dean chuckled; _**"I would, but I've spent the entire day cleaning. I don't feel like dirtying the place up just yet."**_

_**"Cas has ruined you, man. Ruined you, I say!"**_

They texted back and forth for an hour, discussing anything that popped in to their heads. They stopped when Gabriel discovered Empire Strikes Back was playing on the TV; both of them deciding they needed to meet up and marathon the Star Wars films.

Luke had just crash-landed on Dagobah when Dean's phone began ringing. Cas' name glowed on the screen. Dean quickly muted the TV and answered.

"Hey!"

_"Hello, Dean."_

"Uh, having fun in DC?"

_"I suppose as much fun as can be had on an educational trip."_

"But you like learning," Dean chuckled, pulling himself from the sofa.

_"I suppose the company is enjoyable, and the places we visit are phenomenal, so... I suppose yes. I'm having fun. Are you?"_

Dean snorted and padded through to the kitchen; "no! I'm bored, I miss you, and the apartment is spotless now. Like, OCD clean..."

_"I'm sorry, Dean. I had no idea this would happen to you."_

"Me neither! I have nothing to do tomorrow..."

_"Go on a walk? Take a trip in to Boston?"_

"I'd rather do that with you... I might have some kind of marathon... I found my Star Trek boxset..."

Castiel chuckled; _"you've been looking for that since we moved in."_

"I know! So... What have you done today?"

The two of them discussed their days apart; Castiel describing places he'd been in the Capitol, things he'd learnt, people he'd met... Dean told Castiel of all the cleaning he'd done. Dean smiled as Cas talked elatedly about the tour around the Library of Congress, enjoying hearing Cas' voice. After a while he found he wasn't even listening to what his boyfriend was saying, just enjoying hearing Cas' gravelly voice wash over him. He wasn't sure when Cas' voice broke - again, having already broke from puberty, but it "broke" once more in to the deep gravelly voice he now had - but it was the best sound Dean had ever heard. Especially early morning when he was still full of sleep, and croaked Dean's name for any number of reasons; usually for him to get off him so he could go to the bathroom.

_"Dean? Are you listening?"_

"Hmm? Sorry, I got lost..."

Castiel chuckled lightly; _"again? Do you ever listen to me?"_

"It's your voice! It's not my fault!"

_"That's not a valid excuse."_

Dean chuckled too; "it is. Your voice is... Well, sexy. And it distracts me! A lot!"

_"I hope you're not having impure thoughts whilst I try to talk to you."_

"Oh, no... Not all the time."

_"Dean."_

Dean laughed, hearing the fond exasperation in Cas' voice; "sorry beautiful."

_"You're not sorry at all."_

"I apologise for making you uncomfortable, not for the impure thoughts I have of you. I'll never apologise for that!"

_"Sometimes I question why I love you."_

Dean grinned; "no you don't."

_"Of course I don't. You're a pain in the ass, but you're my pain the ass."_

"Such a romantic."

_"I could read you some Lord Byron."_

Dean frowned, reaching for his drink of water; "who?"

_"Romantic poet."_

"Oh. No thanks. Try some Def Leppard, they're pretty romantic, I find."

_"I Wanna Touch You? Hardly romantic, Dean."_

"Hey, I think it's romantic. And that's all that counts."

_"I suppose. Anyway, Dean. I'm sorry but I have to go."_

"No!"

_"Yes, I'm afraid. I'll try to talk to you again tomorrow. And please get some sleep."_

"Impossible without you."

_"I apologise, but there's nothing really I can do."_

"Come back and never leave me ever again?"

_"I'll endeavour to do so in the future. But for now, please go to bed, and I'll see you on Monday. I love you."_

"I love you too, Cas."

Dean hung up and stared at his glass of water, quickly finishing it and rinsing it out in the sink. He didn't even bother going to the bedroom to sleep, instead grabbing Cas' pillow and the blanket from the back of the sofa and settling in for another uncomfortable night of not really sleeping. After several hours of tossing and turning as much as he could on a sofa, he went to grab some of Cas' favourite films; in particular the ones that sent Dean right to sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and he ended up sitting all the way through National Treasure wishing Nic Cage would fall down the mine shaft or get shot by the FBI. Anything to stop the film from continuing.

Dean spent Sunday and most of Monday in a depressive stupor, finding anything to entertain him, desperately clinging to the hope that once he'd finished his task, hours would have passed. But it was usually only ten minutes at most. He spent Sunday marathoning the Star Trek films - no matter how bad most of them were - and Monday doing more odd jobs to fill the time. He was looking forward to seeing Cas, when he got bad news in text format.

_**"Extremely bad traffic, some kind of collision or something. I won't be back until late tonight, early Tuesday morning. Sorry. X."**_

Dean grumbled loudly to himself, kicking the chair in front of him before angrily typing his reply; _**"that sucks balls! Don't they know you have an angsty boyfriend waiting for you at home?"**_

_**"It doesn't seem to matter. I'll see you tonight, hopefully."**_

_**"Can't you spend some time texting me? It's not like you're going anywhere."**_

_**"I was planning to spend my extra time doing some work, so I was free to pay you some attention when I got back."**_

_**"Ok, that sounds reasonable I suppose. I'll see you later then."**_

Unmotivated and a little annoyed, Dean slumped down on the sofa and flicked through the TV channels to find anything to take his mind off the world. He had no idea when he became an obsessive wife, but he couldn't stand being apart from Castiel, and took a mental note to never leave his side for more than 24 hours unless it absolutely, on pain of death, can not be helped. He didn't even care that he knew Sam and Gabriel would lay in to him for probably the rest of his life, because Cas was his entire universe, and had been for a long two years. So to have his universe taken from him for an extended weekend, sucked, for want of a better word.

He surprisingly found himself drifting in and out of consciousness as the TV played in front of him. He had no idea what time it was, or how much time had passed, instead slowly drifting back to sleep.

He jerked awake when he felt something stroking his hair. Peering up through the dark and his sleep-heavy eyes, he slowly made out the silhouette of Castiel. He was suddenly wide awake, jumping up from the sofa and enveloping his boyfriend in a tight hug. Castiel chuckled and spluttered as he hugged Dean back.

"I've fucking missed you!" Dean mumbled in to his neck, pressing several kisses in to the warm skin.

"I missed you, Dean."

"Come on!"

Grabbing Cas' hand and the pillow, Dean ran to their bedroom, throwing the pillow to the head of the bed and standing Cas in front of him. Ignoring the worried and confused look on Cas' face, Dean began stripping the two of them down to their underwear, pushing Castiel towards the bed.

"Dean? What-"

"-Shh, come on."

Dean dived under the covers and grabbed Cas' hand, pulling him under with him. He wrapped his arms and legs around Cas' warm body, burying his face in to his neck and inhaling his familiar scent.

"...Dean?"

"I've had next to no sleep. It turns out I can't sleep on my own. I've missed you sleeping next to me, and I'm sure you've had a long day, so please shut up and just hold me. And go to sleep yourself."

Cas chuckled, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Dean's head; "I love you so much, Dean."

"Mmm, I love you too Cas. Sleep, now."

* * *

**DEAN AND CASTIEL - YEAR 3**

* * *

Dean was lounging on the sofa watching TV when the front door opened. Castiel smiled at him, kicking his shoes off and dropping his bag on the armchair. Dean smirked.

"Good day?"

Cas nodded, looking around nervously. Dean noticed his boyfriend's odd behaviour and sat up.

"...Cas?"

Before Cas could open his mouth, his coat pocket mewed. Blushing, Castiel reached in to his breast pocket and pulled out a tiny grey tabby kitten. Dean frowned as it let out another mew

"Tell me you didn't."

"He was the last one in the box, he was all alone! And he has your eyes!" Cas argued. Dean sighed as Cas cuddled the kitten to his chest. The tiny beast purred and swiped playfully at Cas' fingers as Castiel tried to stroke him.

"Please can we keep him, Dean? He has no one else to look after him."

"How are we supposed to look after him? I work, you're studying!"

"Please Dean? I promise I'll take care of him!"

Castiel pouted. He rarely used his kicked-puppy look, but when he did Dean didn't stand a chance. Dean let out a long sigh.

"You train him, you look after him, you take him to the vets..."

Cas grinned, rushing forward on to Dean's lap, pulling him in to a tight hug and depositing the kitten on the sofa beside them.

"Thank you, Dean!"

"Yeah yeah... No more rescue pets, okay?"

* * *

Dean sighed loudly and grabbed after the four-legged-fiend which had appropriated his sock; "get off you little dick!"

The kitten - which had yet to be named - ducked under the sofa. Dean growled and fell to his hands and knees.

"Cas is doing a fucking bang-up job training you! Give me my fucking sock!"

He glanced around the room for a toy to coax out the kitten with. He spotted a piece of string with a toy mouse attached to one end and dangled it around.

"Come on... It's not like I've got work or anything!"

A small grey paw suddenly batted out from under the sofa. A few seconds later it's tiny head poked out too, Dean's sock in his mouth. It pawed at the mouse again, following as Dean began pulling it away slowly. It dropped the sock and pounced. Dean dropped the toy and made a grab at his sock, quickly pulling it on to his foot before the kitten changed it's mind.

"Idiot! I'll be having words with Cas about you! You're just trouble!"

The kitten looked up at him, the toy mouses tail in it's mouth. Dean smirked, reaching out to pet him.

"You like that, huh? Trouble?"

The kitten mewed and pushed his head in to Dean's hand, purring loudly.

"Well, I'd love to sit and chat, but I've got to go to work. Your food's in the kitchen, if you've got to claw up anything Cas' socks are in the top drawer, don't kill yourself or set the apartment on fire. I'll see you later... Trouble."

The kitten mewed and watched Dean pull himself to his feet and finish getting ready for work. As he left, Dean sent a quick text to Castiel.

_**"Finally picked out a name he likes! Trouble."**_

A few minutes later his phone buzzed with a reply; _**"perfect."**_

* * *

**SAM'S BIRTHDAY**

* * *

Sam knew he shouldn't have allowed Gabriel to plan his seventeenth. He'd hoped for a night in with Jess, Dean, Cas, and other friends; but now he was being taken to an undisclosed location, blindfolded. If Gabriel's eerie grin meant anything, he knew he wasn't in for a particularly pleasant surprise. Dean patted him on she shoulder, indicating they were going up a step and followed his instructions. He could hear some mumbling and suddenly a door was opened, music played out in to the street.

"Seriously guys! Where am I?"

"Patience, young Skywalker!" Crowley laughed.

"Come on, Gigantor! Inside!"

Dean ushered Sam inside the building. It was warm and stuffy, and the music sounded somewhat erotic, and he was sure he could hear various cat-calls. Realisation metaphorically slapped him in the face.

"No! Guys! Tell me you didn't!"

Gabriel laughed and the blindfold was pulled off. Sams' face glowed pink when he realised he was stood staring at the stage of a burlesque show, inadvertently staring at the lady with blue hair and tattoos currently performing.

"Happy Birthday, Samsquatch!" Gabriel laughed, sitting down. Crowley and Dean joined him. Balthazar slung his arm around Sam's shoulders.

"Today you embark on the wonderful journey of becoming a man! Now come! Watch the ladies dance!"

He managed to get Sam to sit as Crowley hailed a waitress over. Whilst he ordered a pitcher of margaritas, Gabriel and Dean began messing with something out of view, before Dean stuffed a wad of bills in to Sam's hand.

"Go on, Sammy!"

"You guys are the worst! I am mortified right now!"

"Hey! Girl's got to make a living!"

"Do you think Cas regrets not coming?" Crowley laughed.

"Oh Hell no! He went pink when I merely mentioned where we were going!" Dean replied, grinning manically. Balthazar laughed.

"Poor Cassie. What's he up to?"

"He's got some papers to write. He actually forced me out, something to do with me being annoyingly distracting."

"Well, when the cat's away... You know Sam, by the end of tonight, you'll have done body shots off one of these lovely ladies!"

Sam flushed and even darker shade of red; "no!"

"Oh yes! Now come on!"

The waitress finally returned, Crowley and Gabriel eagerly started drinking; Dean talked across Sam to Balthazar, whilst Sam just glowed bright red.

As the night wore on, their party moved to a table in front of the stage, Gabriel and Balthazar trying to flirt with the dancers. Dean just sat smirking, occasionally texting Castiel, and Crowley looked positively evil with the grin on his face. Sam's face had been restored to it's usual pale tan, but his ears still glowed pink. Balthazar jumped up to the stage and beckoned the dancer over, whispering in her ear and pointing at Sam. Sam felt his throat go dry and his face burn. The dancer grinned and nodded, picking up her pink feather boa and following Balthazar to their table. Dean elbowed Sam sharply; Crowley shoved his phone in to Sam's face, clearly filming the situation. The dancer stood in front of Sam, smirking.

"I heard it's your birthday."

Sam gulped down a dry swallow and nodded.

"I'm Tilly... Happy Birthday."

Gabriel let out a loud whistle as Tilly began moving her hips seductively, edging closer to Sam; she draped her boa around his neck and jerked his face closer, mere centimetres from her breasts. Sam's tongue quickly wet his lips, trying to regain some control. Tilly pushed him back in his seat and began straddling his lap.

"Come on, Sammy! We gave you money for a reason!" Dean called, his mouth split in to a wide grin. Tilly's lip quirked as she hooked a thumb in the string of her underwear, teasing it away from her skin. Sam jerkily fumbled with his jeans pockets to find the wad of bills, pulling out a couple of tens and stuffing them in to her underwear. He could barely hear Gabriel and Balthazar laugh obnoxiously from the sound of blood pumping around his skull, and the repeated mantra of _"Jess is going to kill me. She's going to fucking murder me."_

"You're shy. It's cute," Tilly hummed as she began dancing over his thighs. Sam spluttered, keeping his hands glued to his thighs. She continued to dance and wriggle her hips seductively, stroking Sam's chest and arms until Balthazar decided he'd been tortured enough. His eyes were as wide as they could go and he was visibly trembling when the eldest Novak slung his arm over Tilly's shoulders and shoved a wad of bills in to her hand.

"Thanks, love. It seems not all of us appreciate the art-form of burlesque."

Tilly laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, leaving a red lip-print behind; "it's fine, sweetness. We've all to go start somewhere."

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to work. I believe there's a video that needs uploading to YouTube."

The five friends returned to drinking and discussing life, and love. Dean went all gooey-eyed talking about Castiel, and Sam couldn't get rid of the grin on his face as he talked about Jess. Balthazar bragged about his bachelor lifestyle, about how he loved living alone without any women telling him what to do. Once the margaritas ran out, Gabriel jumped up, throwing his hands in the air.

"Body shots!"

Balthazar whooped and jogged off to find some women to join them, as Crowley dashed to the bar to get the ingredients. A few minutes later Balthazar returned with two girls who came to see the show and two dancers, and Crowley had come back with two bottles of tequila, a bowl full of lime quarters and two shakers of salt.

"Seeing as it's Sam's birthday, he gets to do the first shot! Pick your lady, Sammy!" Balthazar grinned. Crowley whipped his phone out again, determined to document every embarrassing thing that happened to Sam. After a few moments of silence, the dancer with pink hair volunteered and lay herself across the table. Gabriel grinned and set up the shot, pointing at everything as he ran Sam through.

"Lick the salt off her stomach, drink the shot from her boobs, then eat the lime from her mouth. Okay? No hands!"

Sam's face was an indeterminable shade of red, as he nodded dumbly; "... Do... Do I have to?"

"Go on, Sam! It'll be fun!" Crowley grinned, manoeuvring around the table to get a better shot. The dancer took the lime from her mouth and grinned.

"Come on, handsome. Live a little!"

Dean gave him a brotherly slap on the back and motioned to the girl; "go on, Sammy."

Sam took a few moments to get to grips with the situation before diving straight in, squeezing his eyes shut as he licked up the line of salt from the woman's body. Everyone around him began cheering. He finally reopened his eyes when he was cringing around the lime, not impressed by everyone's massive grins. Gabriel suddenly threw an arm around the youngest Winchester's shoulders.

"I hereby declare, Samuel Winchester, is a man!"

Everyone began cheering again. The night quickly dissolved in to rowdy, drunken behaviour, body shots, leering playfully at the girls, and singing. Sam did several more body shots, much to Dean and Gabriel's praise, but refused to go as far as Balthazar who ended up pouring the tequila straight on to one of the girls' body and licking it off her.

"I'm proud of you, Sammy. You're one of the guys!" Dean grinned. Sam smiled back.

"Does Cas know he's dating a _'guy'_?"

Dean laughed and punched his brother's shoulder; "he knows, and he loves me regardless! But what will Jess say? Especially when she sees the videos!"

"Hopefully she'll know I didn't have a choice and she'll forgive me."

At the end of the night, Sam, Dean, Gabriel and Crowley piled in to a cab, all ready to crawl in to bed and not wake up for a long time. Balthazar had gone home with the girl he'd been licking tequila off, promising details the next morning.

"This was the best, and worst birthday I've ever had," Sam yawned, resting his head on Dean's shoulder. Dean grinned and gave Gabriel a high-five.

* * *

**DEAN AND CASTIEL - YEAR 4**

* * *

Dean pushed his front door open, smiling when he saw Castiel and four other people in the living room. He dropped his keys on to the phone-table and shrugged his jacket off.

"Throwing a party, Cas?"

Castiel looked up from his seat in the middle of the sofa and smiled at his boyfriend; "we have a class project. Good day at work?"

"I'm absolutely filthy, so I'd say yes."

Dean quickly looked around at Cas' friends - Tessa and Victor he'd met a few years earlier and quite liked; Bela Talbot who he'd been quickly introduced to at a party; and a creepily stern looking guy named Virgil, who Dean definitely didn't like and forever teased him with Thunderbirds references - which went over his head.

"I assume you're going to go shower?"

"Yeah. Have fun being a geek."

Dean marched past everyone, pausing to give Castiel a quick peck on the lips, and stepped in to the bathroom. He showered quickly - he felt uncomfortable showering with people in the house - and got changed in to his ratty I-don't-plan-on-leaving-the-house jeans and his worn-out AC/DC shirt, wandering back in to the living room, scrubbing his hair dry with a towel.

"Anyone want a drink? I know Cas is a terrible host! I was going to put some coffee on."

Tessa smiled up at him; "I'll have a coffee please, Dean."

"What tea do you have?" Bela asked, her British accent grating as she shot him a seductive smile.

"Twinings, black. It's all Cas'll drink."

"I'll have some of that please."

Virgil just glared, saying nothing; Castiel and Victor just asked for a glass of water. Dean nodded and went in to the kitchen, beginning to make the drinks. A few moments later, Bela wandered in, a suspiciously innocent expression on her face.

"You all right?"

"Just came to help. I'm very specific about my tea."

"Oh, all right."

Dean looked away for a few moments, when he looked up, Bela was crowding up to him.

"Bela?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Um...?"

"Would it be at all possible for us to have some filthy sex?"

Dean's eyes widened; "excuse me?"

"I need to get laid - apparently so do you - and I'd really like some no-strings-attached sex with someone positively gorgeous... You."

Dean began spluttering, pushing Bela away from him; "what the Hell is wrong with you?"

Bela frowned, folding her arms over her chest; "oh come on, Dean. I know about the arrangement you have with Castiel!"

"Just because I'm allowed doesn't mean I'm going to! Where do you get off on asking me to cheat on my boyfriend?"

"Since it's not really cheating! He doesn't care!"

"Of course he cares, you whore! And I care! I'm not sleeping with anyone other than Castiel!"

Upon hearing the explosive argument, everyone appeared at the kitchen doorway. Bela snorted.

"Please, Dean. I know about you! You've slept with half of the university! I'm surprised you even bother wearing pants! You're the whore here!"

Dean glanced over at Cas, frowning at how sad he looked; "the fucking nerve on you! You come in to my home, proposition me, then accuse me of sleeping around when I turn you down? There is something seriously wrong with you, girl! You'd better fucking sort yourself out!"

Bela smirked; "look at you, getting all defensive. You didn't even deny it!"

"It's none of your fucking business! I know I haven't slept with anyone, it is not for you to accuse me of otherwise! Now get the fuck out!"

"What?"

"Get. Your disgusting ass. Out of my fucking home, before I forcibly remove it!"

Bela glared, standing her ground; "we have a project to do."

"I couldn't give a fucking shit! You are not welcome here! Now get the fuck out!"

"Fine!"

She barged past everyone in to the living room, gathering her things before marching out, slamming the door shut behind her. Everyone else glanced around at each other nervously.

"We should go," Victor mumbled, going to pack away his own things. Virgil glared at Dean.

"If we fail this project now, I'm-"

"-Can it, Thunderbird 2! Do I look like I'm in the fucking mood?"

Tessa squeezed Dean's arm reassuringly and began packing her things away too.

"See you tomorrow, Cas," Victor said, smiling meekly. Castiel nodded, awkwardly playing with the hem of his shirt. The three students left, leaving Dean and Cas in an awkward silence. Dean let out a deep sigh, frowning at Castiel avoiding his gaze.

"Look, Cas-"

"-It's okay, Dean," Cas sigh, slumping down on the sofa; "I mean... I did say you could. I gave you permission."

"But I haven't, Cas! You are the only person I've shared a bed with since we got together!"

"Even so, even if you had slept with... With half of the university..."

Castiel bit his lip, unable to finish his sentence.

"Stupid bitch," Dean mumbled. He let out a long sigh and dropped to his knees in front of Castiel. Cas kept his eyes glued on his hands.

"Cas... I have never, and will never sleep with anyone else."

"Dean, it's fine!"

"No it's not! I don't know why she said what she did, but there's only one person in this university I'd ever sleep with! And right now he can't even look at me."

Cas sighed; "Dean-"

"-Castiel Novak, look at me, please!"

Cas looked in to Dean's eyes, a little unnerved - Dean never used his full name. Dean cupped his boyfriend's cheek, rubbing it softly with his thumb.

"Cas, I swear on Sam's life, I haven't slept with anyone other than you in our four years together. Okay? You remember how upset I was when you first gave me permission to sleep around, and I refused to betray you! And that was when I was perpetually horny and never got any! I've grown up, Cas, and we've got a good thing going. Why would I ruin that, when I have you? You! Who tries his damn hardest to make sure I'm taken care of! You put so much trust in to me to look after you when we get a little frisky! I'd so much rather have the occasional grope with you than regular sex with strangers.  
"Fuck, Cas. I fucking adore you! I worship the damn ground you walk on! I have done for four long, perfect years!"

Castiel smiled his eyes beginning to sting as tears threatened to build up at Dean's rare declaration of love. Dean began fingering the bulge in his pocket, staring in to Cas' eyes, almost beginning to tear up himself at the sight of Cas' watery eyes.

"Fuck, if this isn't a crappy situation... But as good an opportunity as ever... Castiel," Dean reached in to his pocket, pulling out a small black jewellery box; "I've been wanting to ask you all week, tried thinking up perfect situations to... I've had the ring since last Thursday, but... Cas... You've got to marry me, dude!"

Castiel barked out a laugh as Dean ruined yet another romantic moment, throwing his arms around the larger boy's shoulders pulling him in to a tight hug. He began sobbing in to the crook of Dean's neck, too happy to hold back his tears, clinging on to Dean for dear life. He eventually pulled away, looking down at the silver band with green and blue gems in it. Dean smiled, waiting patiently for Castiel to get over the shock. He finally looked back up in to Dean's eyes, still unable to stop the tears.

"Of course I will! I love you so, so much, Dean. You're my life!"

Dean's resolve finally broke as a small tear began it's journey down his cheek. He quickly pulled the ring out, slipping it on to his boyfriend's finger before cupping his face with both hands.

"You're too beautiful to cry, Cas. Stop it. Now... Even so, I still love you when you're all gross and dribbly, like this!"

Castiel huffed out a quiet laugh, grabbing the back of Dean's head and slamming their lips together in a wet, passionate kiss.

* * *

**AN: I told you Dean would never betray Cas. And that's the end of the "you can sleep with other people" story-line. It was a precursor to a very "Dean" proposal. Also, does anyone else think of Thunderbirds when Virgil's mentioned? Or is that just me? There'll be more cat action coming up in later sequels!**

**But yes, do please review and whatnot!  
**


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